In its biggest management shakeup in recent memory, Apple (AAPL) recently announced that two key executives, including longtime software chief Scott Forstall, are leaving, raising questions about whether user disenchantment with the iPhone’s voice-recognition tool Siri and its new Maps app may have been a factor.

In addition to the departures of Forstall and John Browett, who’s been running the Apple Stores less than a year, Apple said in a statement that four of its other top executives, most notably design guru Jony Ive, will take on added chores. Analysts speculated that Forstall could be leaving because of the less-than-stellar performance of Siri and Maps, which he oversaw, while Browett’s move may be tied to recent discontent among Apple Store employees over pay.

“I’d call this a big shakeup,” said Gartner Research analyst Ken Dulaney. “And at least with Forstall, it looks like it has to do with problems with usability, which is the iPhone’s trademark. And if Apple feels they’re not at the top of their game, they’ll do what they have to do to get back on top.”

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Dulaney pointed out that the Maps debacle occurred just as competitors like Microsoft and Google (GOOG) have made strides in what he calls “out-innovating Apple.”

In a news release, Apple said the management musical chairs “will encourage even more collaboration between the Company’s world-class hardware, software and services teams. As part of these changes, Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi will add more responsibilities to their roles.”

Ive, the company’s leader of Industrial Design who worked closely with co-founder Steve Jobs on virtually all of Apple’s most popular products of the last decade, will now play an even greater role in determining the user experience, the company said. Ive, who was at Cook’s side after the iPad Mini’s unveiling last week in San Jose, is widely recognized as the creative genius behind the look and feel of the iPhone, iPod and iPad. And now, says Apple, “Ive will provide leadership and direction for Human Interface (HI) across the company in addition to his role as the leader of Industrial Design.”

Forstall’s exit comes after weeks of embarrassing publicity over the shortcomings of the new Maps app, which prompted Cook to apologize to customers. Users have complained loudly that the app, which replaced Google Maps as the native program on the iPhone’s home screen, sends them on wild-goose chases and puts landmarks in the wrong places.

Some pundits had called for Forstall’s head. “Does Apple have a Scott Forstall problem?” Fortune editor Philip Elmer Dewitt wrote in September.

But in its statement Monday, Apple suggested that Forstall’s departure is amicable, saying “he will be leaving Apple next year and will serve as an adviser to CEO Tim Cook in the interim.’’

Ultimately, said analyst Roger Kay with Endpoint Technologies, it could simply be a desire by Forstall to move on.

“I feel like the hierarchy at Apple was held in place for years because of Steve Jobs, and when he died, he left the potential for instability there,” said Kay. “And while Tim Cook’s done a pretty good job of holding all these people together for the past year, there’s kind of a natural entropy that happens and people leave for all sorts of reasons, including those driven by the individual’s desire to try something new.”

Apple said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, will take on responsibility for Siri and Maps, which Forstall would have had responsibility for as senior vice president of iOS Software. Head of Mac Software Engineering Craig Federighi will lead both iOS and OS X, while hardware chief Bob Mansfield will lead a new group, Technologies.

Browett’s departure as senior vice president of retail is a bit more puzzling. He has only been on the job since January, taking over after retail head Ron Johnson left to became CEO of JCPenney. During Browett’s tenure, store workers complained openly about being underpaid for their work. And while the company raised pay by as much as 25 percent for many of its workers worldwide, Browett was criticized for cutting workers’ hours, terminating part-timers and cutting store budgets.